Nerdist Talks to Nick Stoller about MUPPETS MOST WANTED and NEIGHBORS

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Nick Stoller had a big hand in reviving the Muppets on the big screen. Stoller, along with his Forgetting Sarah Marshall star and screenwriter Jason Segel, co-wrote The Muppets, which made its debut in 2011. Directed by Flight of the Conchords alum James Bobin, Stoller and Bobin teamed up to write the script for Muppets Most Wanted, described by Stoller as “a crazy caper that takes you around the world and there’s an evil Kermit.”

Nerdist got a chance to speak with Stoller at the premiere of the latest Muppet caper, and he revealed a bit about his history with Kermit and the gang. It all started when I told him that The Great Muppet Caper was my favorite Muppet movie. “Mine, too. It was my favorite – I love all of them – it was my favorite because we happened to have the VHS tape… The baseball diamond?! And they play catch with it? It was amazing! And Charles Grodin’s performance is incredible.” Don’t forget Lady Holiday! “And they’re brother and sister but – it’s a little weird, it’s a little weird.”

Just last week Stoller was at SXSW in Austin to promote his next comedy, Neighbors, starring Seth Rogen, Zac Efron, and Rose Byrne. How was it for Stoller working on Neighbors? “It was great, it was really fun. It was a great time. We got to shoot it in L.A., which was awesome for a variety of reasons, and it was such a fun shoot. I’ve known Seth forever, Seth and his writing partner Evan, and so to get to work with him [was great]. And Zac Efron is incredibly good looking. He’s one of the few actors, and it’s happened to me a few times, where I would lose my train of thought when I would be giving him notes.”

Aside from the Muppets and Zac Efron’s dreamy face, what does Stoller have coming up? “I’m writing Captain Underpants for DreamWorks Animation, that’s next. I’m going to be working on that for a while and I’m trying to figure out what I’m going to direct next.”

Muppets Most Wanted is in theaters this Friday and Neighbors opens on May 9. Read Witney’s review of Muppets Most Wantedhere.